AP World History Chapter 1 and 2

Foragers

People who support themselves by hunting wild animals and gathering wild edible plants and insects.

artifact

a man-made object taken as a whole

horticulture

an expert in the science of cultivating plants (fruit or flowers or vegetables or ornamental plants)

polytheism

belief in multiple Gods

marker event

events that change history of a population or world

division of labor

having several people complete a task together. dividing up a task

specialization of labor

idea that everyone did everything, but instead used their skills become an expert at a certain job

migrations

move from one country or region to another and settle there

monsoons

rainy season in southern Asia when the southwestern monsoon blows, bringing heavy rains

divination

the art or gift of prophecy (or the pretense of prophecy) by supernatural means

demography

the branch of sociology that studies the characteristics of human populations

periodization

the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon

neolithic revolution

when people started to settle on land instead of hunting and gathering

cultural diffusion

when two cultures meet and exchange ideas and materials

intervening obstacles

(intervening obstacle) An environmental or cultural feature of the landscape that hinders migration..

push factor

A factor that leaves one with no choice but to leave one's current home (especially parental home), country, region, organization,...

Llama

A hoofed animal indigenous to the Andes Mountains in South America. It was the only domesticated beast of burden in the Americas before the arrival of Europeans.

Pyramid

A large, triangular stone monument, used in Egypt and Nubia as a burial place for the King. The largest pyramids, erected during the Old Kingdom near Memphis with stone tools and compulsory labor, reflect the Egyptian belief that the proper and spectacular burial of the divine ruler would guarantee the continued prosperity of the land.

City-State

A small independent state consisting of an urban center and the surrounding agricultural territory. A characteristic political form in early Mesopotamia, Archaic and Classical Greece, Phoenicia, and early Italy.

Hieroglyphics

A system of writing in which pictorial symbols represented sounds, syllables, or concepts. It was used for official and monumental inscriptions in ancient Egypt. Because of the long period of study required to master this system, literacy in hieroglyphics was confined to a relatively small group of scribes and administrators. Cursive symbol-forms were developed for rapid composition on other media, such as papyrus.

Cuneiform

A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted to represent other languages of western Asia. Because of so many symbols had to be learned, literacy was confined to a relatively small group of administrators and scribes.

Hammurabi

Amorite ruler of Babylon (r. 1792-1750 B.C.E.). He conquered many city-states in southern and northern Mesopotamia and is best known for a code of laws, inscribed on a black stone pillar, illustrating the principles to be used in legal cases.

Kush

An Egyptian name for Nubia, the region alongside the Nile River south of Egypt, where an indigenous kingdom with its own distinctive institutions and cultural traditions arose beginning in the early second millennium B.C.E.

Civilization

An ambiguous term often used to denote more complex societies but sometimes used by anthropologists to describe any group of people sharing a set of cultural traits.

Ma'at

Egyptian term for the concept of divinely created and maintained order in the universe. Reflecting the ancient Egyptians' belief in an essentially beneficent world, the divine ruler was the earthly guarantor of this order.

Semitic

Family of related languages long spoken across parts of western Asia and northern Africa. In antiquity these languages included Hebrew, Aramaic, and Phoenician. The most widespread modern member of the Semitic family is Arabic.

Chavin

First major urban civilization in South America.

Daoism

Chinese school of thought, originating in the Warring States Period with Laozi. Daoism offered an alternative to the Confucian emphasis on hierarchy and duty. achieving harmony with nature

Confucius

Western name for the Chinese philosopher Kongzi (551-479 B.C.E.). His doctrine of duty and public service had a great influence on subsequent Chinese thought and served as a code of conduct for government officials.(p. 62)

independent invention

Development of the same cultural trait or pattern in separate cultures as a result of comparable needs and circumstances..

Mohenjo-Daro

Largest city of the Indus Valley civilization. It was centrally located in the extensive floodplain of the Indus River. Little is known about the political institutions of Indus Valley communities, but the large-scale implies central planning.

Ziggurat

Massive pyramidal stepped tower made of mudbricks. It is associated with religious complexes in ancient Mesopotamian cities, but its function is unknown.

Stone Age

The historical period characterized by the production of tools from stone and other nonmetallic substances. It was followed in some places by the Bronze Age and more generally by the Iron Age.

Babylon

The largest and most important city in Mesopotamia. It achieved particular eminence as the capital of the Amorite king Hammurabi in the eighteenth century B.C.E. and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century B.C.E. and the Neo-Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in the sixth century.

pull factor

The lure of another country, region, organization, or religion.

Zhou

The people and dynasty that took over the dominant position in north China from the Shang and created the concept of the Mandate of Heaven to justify their rule. The Zhou era, particularly the vigorous early period (1027-771 B.C.E.), was remembered in Chinese tradition as a time of prosperity and benevolent rule.

Sumerians

The people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium B.C.E. They were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture-such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions, taken over by their Semitic successors.

Neolithic

The period of the Stone Age associated with the ancient Agricultural Revolution. It follows the Paleolithic period.

Paleolithic

The period of the Stone Age associated with the evolution of humans. It predates the Neolithic period.

Hittites

The Hittites were an Ancient Anatolian people who established an empire at Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around the 18th century BC, a member of an ancient people who inhabited Anatolia and northern Syria about 2000 to 1200 BC, specialized in chariots and iron weapons

Mandate of Heaven

Chinese religious and political ideology developed by the Zhou, according to which it was the prerogative of Heaven, the chief deity, to grant power to the ruler of China and to take away that power if the ruler failed to conduct himself justly and in the best interests of his subjects.

Thebes

Capital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Amon, patron deity of Thebes, became one of the chief gods of Egypt. Monarchs were buried across the river in the Valley of the Kings.

Meroe

Capital of a flourishing kingdom in southern Nubia from the fourth century B.C.E. to the fourth century C.E.. In this period Nubian culture shows more independence from Egypt and the influence of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scribe

In the governments of many ancient societies, a professional position reserved for men who had undergone the lengthy training required to be able to read and write using cuneiforms, hieroglyphics, or other early, cumbersome writing systems.

Harappa

Site of one of the great cities of the Indus Valley civilization of the third millennium B.C.E. It was located on the northwest frontier of the zone of cultivation , and may have been a center for the acquisition of raw materials, such as metals and precious stones, from Afghanistan and Iran.

Amulet

Small charm meant to protect the bearer from evil. Found frequently in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia and Egypt, amulets reflect the religious practices of the common people.

Culture

Socially transmitted patterns of actions and expression. MATERIAL CULTURE refers to physical objects such as dwelling, clothing, tools, and crafts. Culture also includes arts, beliefs, knowledge, and technology.

aryans

The Aryan race was a racial grouping commonly used in the period of the late 19th century to the mid 20th century to describe peoples of Indo-European Eurasian heritage

Memphis

The capital of Old Kingdom Egypt, near the head of the Nile Delta. Early rulers were interred in the nearby pyramids.

Pharaoh

The central figure in the ancient Egyptian state. Believed to be an earthly manifestation of the gods, he used his absolute power to maintain the safety and prosperity of Egypt.

Agricultural Revolution

The change from food gathering to food production that occurred between around 8000 and 2000 B.C.E. Also known as the Neolithic Revolution.

Shang

The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for which we have written records.

Olmec

The first Mesoamerican civilization. Between ca. 1200 and 400 B.C.E., the Olmec people of central Mexico created a vibrant civilization that included intensive agriculture, wide-ranging trade, ceremonial centers, and monumental construction.